


Masquerade

by chacusha



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One-Sided Attraction, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 05:17:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16486595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chacusha/pseuds/chacusha
Summary: "Contrary to what most people thought, Alternis did not, in fact, dislike dances." It just takes special circumstances before he's willing to participate. A short, fluffy Altdea one-shot written for Bravely Ship Week Fall 2018.





	Masquerade

**Author's Note:**

> I envision this takes place before the events of Bravely Default, but it's probably not canon-compliant... Written for the Bravely Ship Week prompt "Masquerade"!

Contrary to what most people thought, Alternis did not, in fact, dislike dances. Quite the opposite, he enjoyed them a lot. The sight of men and women dressed in beautiful and glamorous clothes that they so rarely got the opportunity to wear was something he appreciated. That was not something he would admit aloud, however. He would be even less likely to admit that another aspect of dances that appealed to him was the way they involved frequent, gentle touching. Alternis longed for that sensation -- touching another, having another person touch him, a _certain_ person in particular -- and there were not many contexts better for that than dancing.

But it was unlikely that people would ever know this fact because Alternis never participated in dances himself. He would often show up, however. He was glad that both Braev and Mahzer consistently insisted he should, because even though he didn't participate, it was enjoyable enough observing the way the whirling of people's bodies did well to show off their clothes, or the warm and friendly touches people gave each other, so casually, as if to say, "we are all friends here." It was somehow calming just to watch, even if Alternis did not partake in it himself. And luckily, no one would question why Eternia's dark knight came to dances only to stand in a corner awkwardly and never dance, if it made the Grand Marshal and his wife so happy that he had showed up at all.

What was the reason he stubbornly refused to participate? Part of it was self-consciousness about his amount of skill. Holly had once tried to convince him that being skilled in a martial art largely transferred over to dancing skills. But Barras was a clear counterexample of that (although he did have enough confidence to largely render the lack of skill unimportant). In any case, Alternis remained doubtful he could be good at something having never regularly practiced it. Some of the simpler and more ritualized dances that mainly involved memorizing a pattern and walking sorely tempted him, though. But even that kind of dancing would require getting over the other form of self-consciousness -- Alternis's reluctance to interact with people he knew while not wearing his helmet and his armor. Wearing the helmet by itself looked ridiculous, and it wouldn't work to clank around the room in full plate armor, as if at any moment enemy archers would start attacking, all while the sharp points of his armor snagged on the clothes of neighboring dancers. He'd been through the same thought process countless times -- he'd look through his closet before a ball considering whether he'd be comfortable going in anything there, then chicken out and go in his armor, then at some point in the night get tempted to actually dance, but then realize it would require leaving and changing, and ultimately decide it wasn't worth it.

It was for all these reasons that, when Mahzer announced that the next dance would be a masquerade AND heavy on set dances, Alternis found himself in his room, heart racing, seriously debating whether to go. _Actually_ go -- attend in dance-appropriate wear and _maybe_ even dance (that was a bridge he could debate crossing at a later time).

A mask wouldn't cover his whole head, but it could get pretty close, depending on the style of mask. And peering through the eye holes of a mask had a similar effect of peering through the slits of his helmet -- it made him feel cut off from the outside world. It was a reassuring feeling.

Working up the courage to go was still not easy. Wearing a thick black mask and clad in a silk tunic, Alternis still felt naked without the weight of his armor and the metallic reverberation of his helmet. He slipped into the great hall quietly an hour after the dance had started so as to minimize the amount of attention he drew to himself. This was mostly successful, although he wasn't able to escape the notice of Victoria -- very little did -- or avoid hearing her remark to Victor slyly, "Is _that_ who I think it is?"

Trying his best to ignore the witch, Alternis busied himself by scanning the room for Edea. Although it was harder to recognize the dancers in all their masks and fancy gowns, he was eventually able to pick Edea out of the crowd from her short height and her blonde hair. As soon as the dance ended and she had taken a seat on the edge of the room, Alternis approached her, aware that he was much, much too eager. He bowed -- stiffly and awkwardly, though he must have done it thousands of times before. "Milady," he said.

Edea looked up at him. Her costume was themed around a swan, with a white mask with a large feather on one side and a white dress that was a mass of ruffles and feathers. All of her skin from her forehead to her shoulders was flushed pink with exertion, and she was pulling back sweaty hair from her face. She was beautiful.

"May I have the next dance?" he asked.

She smiled. "Sure." She gulped down some water and joined him and the other dancers on the dance floor.

After a few minutes, the band started to play. The rows of couples bowed to each other, then approached each other, walking in a figure eight, taking hands to promenade together, joining hands in groups of four to make a circle... The feeling of holding another's hand was odd, unexpectedly warm and clammy, but Alternis soon got accustomed to it and found it natural and easy. Not just holding Edea's hand, but the hands of various people as the pairs of dancers cycled in opposing directions, yielding a new neighboring couple after each cycle of the dance.

Edea was a dynamic dancer, as Alternis expected she would be. Her movements were quick, sometimes almost too quick to even register. She added little flourishes to the dance -- a flick of the wrist, extra turns, a stomp of her feet. Nothing showy, just exuberant and playful. And the smile she made when greeting a new partner, though largely hidden by her mask, still managed to brighten the room. When she returned to him, the smile she gave him could have melted him. As the dance went on, her smile became a half-laugh, as if the fact that they kept separating and reuniting was funny. It was almost like she was trying to coax a smile from him. She might well have been successful -- for all he knew, he could have had a big silly grin plastered to his face. Alternis just hoped that his dancing did justice to her own and that together they made a smart couple.

  
[Image of Alternis and Edea dancing. If the image isn't appearing, go [here](http://denahi.tumblr.com/post/178896344299/inktober-day-8-bravely-ship-week-day-2).]

As the music came to the end, Alternis stood facing Edea, chest heaving from the exercise. He bowed again, smoother and more elegantly this time. "Thank you for the dance," he said. He then joined the crowd of people moving across the room, either seeking their seat or the table with refreshments. He quickly melted into the crowd and slipped out of the ball as unobtrusively as he had entered it.

Through hallways and down stairs he walked until he was out of Eternian Central Command and standing in the snow. The mask was stifling, so he took it off, exposing his face to the night air and letting the snow-covered hills and trees fill his vision. The cold breeze was a welcome remedy to his flushed face, his racing heart. If he could have, he would want nothing more than to dance with Edea all night. But it would be inappropriate and conspicuous for him to do so, and the experience of one dance had already left him feeling wired and overstimulated, like when he drank too many cups of coffee too fast. One dance was more than enough for him today.

Hearing nearby footsteps, Alternis hastily put on his mask again, headed quietly back to his quarters, and retired for the night early.

* * *

Alternis rose late the next morning, stopping in on Edea and Mahzer as they were finishing their breakfast.

"Alternis!" Edea said. "You never showed up last night at the ball. I thought you said you could make it."

So she hadn't recognized him after all. Alternis wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. It would be embarrassing to know that Edea knew it was he who had approached her so boldly last night, so in a sense he was grateful to have escaped her notice. But at the same time, he wished he could tell her, wished she somehow just knew. Alternis was about to give some excuse ("I was behind on paperwork"), but Mahzer spoke up first.

"Alternis did come. _And_ he danced."

Alternis let out an inarticulate, strangled-sounding noise.

"Whaaat?!" Edea exclaimed. "Alternis did? Really?"

Mahzer smiled as she sipped her tea. "You must have missed him, Edea. He only stayed for one dance." Mahzer turned her head ever so slightly so that Edea did not see her mother give Alternis a wink.

Alternis was glad to be wearing his dark knight armor again, as it hid his furious blush.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked! (I'm actually quite pleased at how many Alternis-related headcanons I was able to incorporate into this ficlet.)


End file.
